Then and Now: What’s the Legal Landscape of the 21st Century?
By Laura Miller
My dad went on a recent rant. Call it a polemic on the pitfalls of law school. My friends entering law school are brilliant, as are my family members and friends who are attorneys. So what’s his beef?
- For friends entering school, the debt burden seems like a huge pill to swallow. The CPA in him sees that ⅓ of law students aren’t employed upon graduation, and labels it an expensive gamble.
- He has a ton of friends who have a law degree and aren’t practicing (he has no plans to quit accounting), so why did they bother with such a difficult degree in the first place?
And though I hate to say he’s right, in some ways being a lawyer seems to be a lifestyle, and with the 80 hour work weeks associated with firm-life, how can it not be? As someone who’s curious about small businesses and how they solve their problems, the consensus is that law is generally nothing more than a confusing and costly hassle — especially for first time entrepreneurs, contractors, and freelancers who are just starting out.
Why is law still like this? What does the future legal force look like? What’s the legal landscape of the 21st Century?
Law is Still Big Firm Centric
Big firms rule the legal landscape, and have for as long as anyone can remember. If you’re a millennial from a legal family, your parents probably finished law school somewhere in the mid-1970s and started working at a law firm; though changes in other professions have proliferated, law is still practiced in much the same way.
For recent law school graduates, the top jobs are at large, elite firms, where power is partner-centric. Within these firms, there is still a ton of internal overhead, with secretaries, filing cabinets, fancy office space and furniture, and a dress code that many corporate industries have all but abandoned.
A lot of people have been left out of this world — recent graduates from law schools are facing tough employment realities, work-life balance is still way out of whack, and though there are more women practicing, they continue to face a real wage gap (44% according to a recent survey).
But what about those who have found a way out? What is the world of the small firm or private practice like? How are these attorneys finding success in the world of self-employment, flexible work schedules, and increasingly connected clients.
Even though firm life may be eerily similar to its past self, here’s how the legal landscape is different, and changing faster than ever in the 21st century.
The Place of Small Private Practice
A big difference between now and even 1995 in law is that small private practices have far fewer barriers to entry than in the past.
The success of these practices once relied on experienced attorneys (in many cases big law firm partners) setting up shop and offering existing clients lower rates by cutting out the implicit middleman: their previous firm. This is still how many private and small practices start, and if that’s your story, more power to you! But even taking clients from the big firm setting, there was, and still can be, a ton of risk for attorneys setting up their own practice.
The cost of office space, marketing, access to information resources, billing, and client relations can be exorbitant without even mentioning the difficult and unpaid task of actually finding clients, which can be frustrating and take time(unless you were a well established attorney).
Today, more lawyers are finding there is real opportunity outside the firm, and not just for all-star partners who can blaze their own trail.
The Rise of the “You Can Make it On Your Own” Mentality
Professionals, attorneys included, are different today than in our pre-internet past. Through using technological efficiencies, attorneys are enabling themselves to join the rapidly growing labor force of freelancers and independent contractors.
Take this opening quote from Fast Company’s article, Here’s Why the Freelancer Economy is on the Rise:
As of May 2015, 15.5 million people in the U.S. were self-employed, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics — an increase of roughly 1 million since May 2014. That number is expected to keep growing at a steady clip. By 2020, a separate study estimates that more than 40% of the American workforce, or 60 million people, will be independent workers — freelancers, contractors, and temporary employees.
Individual vs. Group
Not just Millennials are seeing the value in maintaining their individuality as a lawyer. Turns out, attorneys are creative problem solvers too and the feeling of being a cog in the big firm machine can wear on lawyers.
With increased access to information (often at little to no cost), lawyers like many other skilled professionals are feeling more confident about going out on their own. With the internet, firms aren’t the only place legal answers live. Experience and advice are being shared and connections can happen outside an office.
Attorneys are finding ways to solve their clients problems on their own, all in pursuit of:
- Desire to work when, where and how you want
- Prioritizing work life balance
- Decreasing inefficiencies in legal practice
Tech + Trends Have Made it Possible for More Individuals to Practice Law the Way They Want
There is still risk to practicing law alone or in a small firm setting, but recent technological improvements and cultural shifts of the past decade have lowered those risks substantially.
Attorneys are now meeting client demands with new models of legal practice, often using technology to do many of the things a traditional firm would do: managing your practice, marketing yourself and satisfying clients.
Coworking
Coworking has changed legal landscape for two major reasons:
Location: Tons of potential clients and partners for growing your business already work there, not to mention networking events and community engagement that coworking spaces often facilitate.
Overhead: For one low fee you get access to furniture, work space, printing, meeting spaces and internet! Coworking spaces are saving small and private practices tons of dollars.
Tools for Business + Client Management
Even the most basic tools, like personal computers, email, electronic calendars, video conferencing and secure document sharing have revolutionized the capabilities of private and small practices.
Not to mention the proliferation of legal tech! There are now countless client relationship management software programs available to lawyers, as well as new ways to bill clients and track your hours.
In the future, we see clients demanding even more from their attorneys. Expect to see trends like those below changing how you practice:
- The death of the billable hour
- E-signatures
- Storage and sharing of information
- Matching clients and attorneys in legal marketplaces
Online Marketing & Free Media
In the past, traditional advertising in print, radio and television carried high costs. Today, much of the content and channels people (a.k.a. clients) consume is free! One of the biggest price reductions for small and private practices is in marketing costs.
Today, attorneys can win clients through having a well designed website, being optimized for key search terms, writing awesome blog content, having an engaging presence on social media, and even sharing information via podcasts. All of these methods carry costs and time, but the more digitally savvy your practice can become, the better chances you have with connecting to your clients in the places they are!
Trend: Clients are Looking Online for Legal
Meeting client demands with new models of legal will undoubtedly be the biggest shift for the legal landscape of the 21st century.
What do you see?
Think the legal industry will continue in its traditional ways? Are you a private practice or small firm with innovative ideas and tips? What do you see that we don’t?
Leave us your thoughts! Feel free to leave comments or drop us an email!
